What for ?
For doing some
plain-speaking re : Risk Avoidance by govt babus
Where did he say – and what did he say ?
Here is that report
:
Stop passing the buck when you see files, cabinet
secretary tells officials /
TOI / 25 Dec 2021
Extract :
For years, government officials have taken
refuge in phrases such as “ may also see
“
or “ may
kindly see “ on files that move from one desk to another just
because no
one wants to take a call on the matter mentioned in
them – a case of passing hot potatoes around in circles
The “ syndrome “ has caught the attention and drawn
criticism from the country’s top bureaucrat at a time when the government is
seeking to speed up decision-making and
reduce red tape, with cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba ( cabinetsy@nic.in ) , urging senior officers
to consciously avoid taking recourse to such phraseology and encourage other
colleagues not to succumb to risk-averse behaviour
Seeking a change in the way the government works,
the cabinet secretary said at a workshop on “ Increasing Efficiency in
Decision Making “ , that unless government departments change their culture
and take timely decisions, even big ticket announcements made by the government
will not take off
Gauba’s comments came after coal secretary, Anil Kumar Jain [ secy.moc@nic.in ] flagged
how many officers were simply putting their signatures on files without
adding any value
“
I think this has to do with risk avoidance. The DoPT and DAPRG ( administrative
reforms and grievance redressal department ) should look at the root cause of why this syndrome has
developed and what needs to be done
“, he said
MY TAKE :
Dear Shri Gaubaji,
As you so rightly observed, “… this has
to do with risk avoidance “
Let us ask those “ risk avoiding “ baubus :
“ What risk are you afraid of ? “
Most likely reply :
“ Even if my decision is totally honest
(
and in no way corrupted by any desire to benefit myself / my family / my
friends ), if at a later date it turns out to be a WRONG decision, I am afraid of my head getting
chopped off, after someone asks PAC – CVC – ED – CBI etc., to conduct an
inquiry. No
one can make RIGHT
decisions all the time. To err is
human
Even if such an inquiry proves that I had acted
without any malafide and taken that decision in the best interest of the
government and the public, my reputation will, forever stand
tarnished and come in the way of my future promotions
On the other hand, no one can blame me for an
indecision “
Dear Shri
Gaubaji,
Here is “ what
needs to be done “ :
To encourage HONEST officers to take bold / quick
decisions on matters presented to them, I urge you to implement :
Ø To Err is Human………………………. [ 20 June 2014 ]
Extract
:
Often, decisions taken at a point of time, turn out to be " poor
", with passage of time
Reasons are simple :
* We never have all the information - relevant to the problem we are trying to
solve - available with us , at
* Even when most of such relevant info is available, we may not have the
capacity/competence to " process "
* As humans, we have our biases / prejudices , based on our previous
experiences , which influence our
* Quite often , and often against our own better evaluation / judgement
of a
given situation , we are wrongly
subordinates or even voters - all of whom have different expectations /
vested interests !
* Additional - and more relevant - information surfaces , AFTER we have taken a
decision ( happens all the
To encourage Babus and Ministers to take FAST decisions , Shri Narendra Modi
must insist that :
Ø They carefully " Record " on the files :
* What info / data he wished was available for a
better decision
* What different " views / opinions "
were presented to him for
consideration
* What " Data / Views " he would have
obtained if he had more time
* Who all , the decision might offend
* What
is the likely " Cost " of postponing that decision
And finally a declaration ,
“ THIS DECISION IS NOT LIKELY TO BENEFIT ANY OF MY NEAR
RELATIVES / FRIENDS , DIRECTLY OR IMMEDIATELY “
After all of this , if the decision appears to be " Wrong " in
hindsight , it must be " forgiven
" and treated as an honest error
With regards
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 26 Dec 2021
Related Readings :
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